Visual target designator

More thinking out loud.....

I was thinking about the verbal target designator(see other thread), and wondering how to do the same thing visually. Putting any sort of signalling devices downrange has obvious drawbacks. Then it occured to me that nothing physical has to be downrange -- one could designate targets using a laser or light projected from the firing line.

Again, the goal is to add some identification and processing time instead of shooting known sequences. It could also be just plain fun, like whack-a-mole with a pistol.

The hardware could be something like a laser pointer on a pivoting platform. Model airplane servos might be one way to do it, and I suspect there are other options in the home robotics world. It'd be a box you'd put on the bench or on the ground next to you. You'd manually designate each target, the location would be stored as an x,y coordinate, and assigned a variable name. The program would assign each variable a number or range, generate a random number string, and designate targets in a random sequence. You could also manually enter sequences. The time between movements would be adjustable.

Somebody build one -- I want to see how it works!

I built a set of wireless stop lights. They have three LEDs - red, amber, green - and you can turn them on in any order. I'll paint steel corresponding colors and you have to engage them or if you want to screw with them, use the colors as non-shoots.

I've never done it but for low light I really want to have index card with numbers and place them on the splash guards. If two lights were lit, you'd find the target(s) marked with 2 and engage them. I had intentions of using them to indicate how many shots to fire at a recent range session but ran out of time.

Because they are wireless and there are two of them, you can spread them out or place them behind shooters to really make them scan.